HOUSTIN, TEXAS- An underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) built by students in the OCVTS Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science made a good showing in national competition in Houston in June.

The “Megalops” placed ninth in overall in a contest among 50 entries from across the country. The competition was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Johnson Space Center (NASA).

A ROV student team lead by MATES instructors Tina Held and Keith Pabuta traveled to Texas with the specially designed vehicle. The team did an amazing job, “said Ms. Held. “They received second place in the poster category, fourth for the technical report, eighth in presentation and eleventh in missions,” she added.

The NASA research contest presented practical challenges a remote operated vehicle may have to accomplish. They include capping an oil well, repairing a sub sea telecommunications cable and installing an instrument module on the Hubble space telescope.

Megalops was equipped with interchangeable arms to adapt to each of three timed competitions. The trials took place in a 40-foot deep pool in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. In the pool were mock-ups of a space shuttle and an International Space Station. The pool was specifically constructed for NASA’s experiments on future journeys to Juniper’s moon Europa.